The present invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle barrier. In particular, the invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle barrier with a barrier column, a barrier arm and a drive mechanism for pivoting the barrier arm between a blocking and an open position.
According to the prior art, vehicle barriers designed in this manner are, in particular, used as parking barrier gates for controlling entry and exit driveways of parking areas and as vehicle barriers for operating toll gates.
One significant parameter for the operation of such a vehicle barrier is vehicle recognition. The objective is to recognize if a vehicle is standing in front of an entry or exit driveway blocked by a vehicle barrier, and in the event that a vehicle stands in front of the entry or exit driveway, to determine how many axles it has and if it is a motorcycle.
It is known from the prior art to use induction loops installed in the driveway before the entry or exit in connection with downstream evaluation electronics for the vehicle recognition. The induction loops are used to recognize a vehicle at the ticket input and output and also to avoid pivoting of the barrier am of a vehicle barrier into the blocking position if a vehicle could be damaged by doing so, i.e., to avoid that the vehicle barrier closes too soon.
However, the use of induction loops for vehicle recognition results in a complex and cost-intensive installation in the respective roadway, in maintenance fraught with difficulties and in a limited service life since the roadway can sink or be damaged by the weight of the vehicles, which in turn can damage the loops. The loops can also corrode due to water ingress after damage to the road when the insulation is defective or insufficient. An additional disadvantage is the fact that the connection to the evaluation electronics requires wiring, which leads to additional higher installation and maintenance expenditures.
Another parameter for operating a vehicle barrier after vehicle recognition is the detection of the vehicle's license plate. According to the prior art, this is done via a photo or video camera and subsequent evaluation of the obtained images using character recognition.
When operating a vehicle barrier, recognizing a following vehicle is also essential, because when a vehicle follows the vehicle driving in the front, the entering vehicle is not recognized and logged in and, in the case of an exiting vehicle, financial losses may be the result.
It is furthermore important for the operation of such vehicle barriers to recognize vandalism attempts in time to initiate appropriate counter-measures. In the context of the present patent application, vandalism refers to unauthorized entry or exit as well as to unauthorized movement of the barrier arm, which could damage the barrier arm and/or the vehicle barrier, among other things.